Drop size distribution and holdup in a rotating impeller extraction column

A stagewise hydrodynamic model, applying drop population balance equations derived from models for breakage and coalescence of drops in a countercurrent liquid-liquid extraction system, was developed to predict the drop size distribution and the holdup of the dispersed phase in a rotating impeller extraction column. The drop size distributions were obtained by taking the photographs of the dispersions at the same locations through the rectangular shaped glass box filled with distilled water. The experimental variables were the impeller speed and flow rates of the continuous and dispersed phases. The solutions of the model equations were obtained by performing the computer simulation and the optimum parameter values were determined. The results predicted by the model were in good agreement with the experimental results obtained from the present rotating impeller extraction column.